Democracy and Social Change in Britain, 1851-2024

This project will make a groundbreaking contribution to the study of social and political change in Britain by analysing patterns of change over a far longer time period than previously possible.

A full-scale and comprehensive study of social and political change in Britain is long overdue. A truly long-run study is needed because major changes in the political system are infrequent and major re-alignments in the party system are rare. The underlying economic and social drivers of these changes can operate slowly - a week may be a long time in politics but not in demography.

Moreover, thanks to the public investment made by the ESRC in large data infrastructure projects such an exercise is now possible at relatively low cost.

The project will create a harmonized longitudinal dataset of constituency level general election results mapped onto constituency level census data from 1851-2024 to provide a comprehensive analysis of social change on electoral outcomes in Britain.

We will examine some of the most important and profound social and political transformations of the last 170-years and provide a rich evidential base from which to answer key questions about long-term changes to British society and electoral politics.

By looking at how constituencies have changed socially and economically as well as politically, and with better historical data, our project will make a significant contribution to contemporary debates about the political ramifications of demographic change and shed new light on the long term political impact of deindustrialization and economic decline, demographic change and regional inequality.